Millennium Falcon

Deeply exhausted, Han slowly opened his eyes and found Leia standing over him as he laid on the ship's med-bed, "How are you feeling, Han?" Leia asked in a gentle voice.

"I'm tired," Han replied groggily. "Being carbon froze makes you feel real peachy."

Leia sighed and gently stroked Han's forehead, unable to keep from smiling as Han reached up and gently pulled her close, "You're so beautiful, Leia," he spoke softly.

For what seemed like several moments, Han and Leia stared intently at one another before they ended up in a gentle, but passionate liplock. Within seconds, Han was sitting up and Leia was kneeling on the med-bed, silently kissing him very passionately.

Rebel Base

Trembling anxiously, Luke landed his ship in the hangar bay and had just climbed out of the fighter when his stomach lurched and he threw up on the floor. Artoo beeped anxiously and lowered himself from the ship; he too was hurting from Anakin's capture.

Wiping his mouth, Luke walked out of the hangar bay with Artoo at his heels and anxiously began to search for someone who could help him. Vader was most likely going to turn his father over to the Emperor and the Emperor could kill him quickly.

"Skywalker, it's about time you got here!" an excited voice suddenly called out to him.

Luke frowned as Wedge suddenly came over to him. "Luke, where's your father at?" Wedge asked in an excited voice. "Admiral Ackbar and Mon Monthma want to talk..."

"Wedge, where are they?" Luke interrupted anxiously. "I need to talk to them both."

Wedge frowned, "In the war room," he replied in a concerned voice. "Where is he?"

Cursing under his breath, Luke hurried down the hallway, peeking in open rooms as he ran, only stopping when he saw Mon Monthma, Admiral Ackbar, and several other official looking people talking with each other while poring over technical specs.

"Senator Monthma, my father was kidnapped by Darth Vader," Luke announced.

Silence filled the war room and every head in the room turned to look at Luke, "We had stopped at Dagobah to visit an old friend of my father's and Darth Vader arrived just as we were getting ready to leave," Luke explained anxiously. "My father...saved me."

"What old friend?" Mon asked curiously. "I thought that all the Jedi had been killed off."

As Artoo and Wedge approached from behind, Luke sighed, "We were visiting Master Yoda," he replied in a distressed voice. "Vader disarmed my father and choked him into unconsciousness, but my father had ordered Artoo to get the ship off of Dagobah..."

"Skywalker was supposed to lead the assault against the Death Star!" Admiral Ackbar replied in an angry, almost infuriated voice as he approached Luke. "We'll have to send part of our forces to rescue him and risk losing able fighters! Do you know if he's alive?"

Shellshocked by Admiral Ackbar's ranting, Luke silently turned and left before he had to listen to anymore negativity. He had to figure out a way to rescue his father alone.

Death Star

"THIS is what became of the all powerful Anakin Skywalker after Mustafar?!"

Gasping, Anakin opened his eyes and found himself bound to an upright table that was in view of Palpatine and Darth Vader. Palpatine was eyeing him and clenching his fists.

"Ah, our guest is awake!" Palpatine said grandly, a dark chuckle in his voice. "Tell me, Anakin, was the reunion with your wife as beautiful as you expected it to be for you?"

Anakin frowned and tried to speak, but found that his throat was tight, "I wanted Luke because he is young and strong, but I will get him after I kill you," Darth Vader hissed as the metallic suit walked over to Anakin. "I would like for you to have a chance to defend yourself, though. You and I will fight to the death and I will capture Luke after you die."

"This should prove very entertaining," Palpatine said as he released Anakin's throat. "I don't believe you have picked up a lightsaber since Obi-Wan Kenobi died, Anakin."

Gasping anxiously, Anakin frowned as Darth Vader handed him his lightsaber, "I know you do not want to fight your beloved Padme, Anakin," Palaptine crooned mockingly as Vader ignited a red lightsaber. "If you don't, however, I will kill you without hesitation."

"Padme died on Mustafar," Anakin snapped. "That thing in the suit is not my beloved."

Palpatine cackled as Anakin ignited his lightsaber and broke through the table straps.

Millennium Falcon/Rebel Base

Silence filled the massive ship and both Han and Leia lay asleep together on the medbed, their clothes rumpled from their intimate activity. Han was sitting up with his head and back against the wall while his arms were wrapped around Leia's form.

Loud whining filled the corridor, jarring both Han and Leia awake and they anxiously separated just as Chewie came into the rest area, "What's that Chewie?" Han asked, still shaken over what he and Leia had just done. "Oh, we're approaching the base?"

"Anakin and Luke will be happy to see us, no doubt," Leia said in a concerned voice even though she felt something was not quite right. "You'll need medical clearance."

Han sighed, "I'm actually feeling much better than I was," he replied softly. "Are you?"

Nodding, Leia stood up and straightened up her rumpled clothes, "I'm sure Luke and Anakin are wondering where we are," she replied in an anxious voice as Han slowly got to his feet. "He's supposed to be leading this attack and I'm anxious to hear his plan."

"What's the deal with you always talking about Anakin?" Han scoffed. "He's way older!"

Leia was silent for a moment and then sighed, "Anakin's my birth father, Han, if you must know," she replied in a shaken voice. "I only found out at the medical base and I've been trying to process it. Anakin and Luke don't know I know, so please don't..."

"I'm not going to say anything," Han replied calmly, deeply floored at Leia's revelation that Anakin was Leia's birth father and Luke was her brother. "How do you feel?"

Leia shrugged and silently walked off to the cockpit, prompting Han to follow after her.

It wasn't long before the Falcon had landed in the hangar bay and Han, Leia, Lando, and Chewie were walking through the base with hopes of running into either Anakin or Luke. What they came across, however, was Luke talking to the other Rebel leaders in a less public area of the base, as if none of them wanted their conversation to be heard.

"Luke," Leia spoke in a concerned voice. "I thought the briefing wasn't to be until later?"

Luke sighed helplessly and Admiral Ackbar gazed at Leia solemnly, "This mission has been complicated by the abduction of Anakin by Darth Vader," Admiral Ackbar explained grimly, offering no additional details about the incident. "The squadron will go ahead with the attack on the Death Star as planned, but we need a diversion on the planet to draw attention away from the Death Star's shield generator so that it can be disabled. Once the generator is disabled, our forces can go in and rescue Anakin before the squadron destroys the Death Star. It is a risky mission, so we need a good..."

"Uh, I'll lead the diversion team," Han spoke up nervously. "Anakin helped save my life."

Leia looked surprised, but Luke nodded anxiously, "The diversion team will need to take an old Imperial shuttle to Endor and disable the generator," Admiral Ackbar explained.

"I can help too," Lando offered, frowning as Han shook his head. "What?"

Han sighed, "I want you to go with the squadron in the Falcon," he replied softly.

"I'm coming on the diversion team too," Leia spoke anxiously as Chewie whined.

Luke, however, didn't say anything, as he knew that he had to go to the Death Star and rescue his father alone. His father would probably die if anyone else went after him, but Luke knew that he had to pretend to go along with the plan until he could slip away.

Keeping silent, Luke followed the group back to the hangar bay and sighed at seeing the old Imperial shuttle that they had to fly; it wasn't much of a shuttle, but it would do.

Death Star

"You are stronger than I expected, Anakin," Darth Vader breathed heavily as he stood back, raising his lightsaber for a brief respite. "You do not have Kenobi to help you now, though, and you will lose. It is much easier to give into the Dark Side as you were..."

Anakin glared at Vader, "Never," he snapped. "I already lost too much because of you."

Palpatine chuckled and roared as he shot Sith Lightning at Anakin, who stumbled backwards, but did not fall, "Impressive," Vader mused, seeing Anakin's determination.

"I don't give up easily," Anakin replied, breathing hard as he slowly righted himself.

Darth Vader exhaled sharply and raised his weapon as Anakin came at him yet again.

Endor

"It's an Imperial shuttle, Owen," Beru spoke in an anxious voice, leaning heavily on the bushes as she watched the shuttle come towards the ground from above. "They found out about us leaving all those years ago. They've come to kill us for getting those..."

As the shuttle landed in a clearing not too far from where they were hidden, Owen pulled out a blaster from his belt, "I'll do my best to protect you and the Ewoks," he said in an angry voice, preparing the blaster to fire. "We're not going to be killed today."

Beru frowned as the shuttle opened and Luke stepped out looking distressed, "Luke!" Beru called out as she broke through the brush. "Luke, what are you doing here?"

"Aunt Beru?" Luke asked in a shocked voice as his aunt embraced him. "I thought..."

Owen lowered his blaster and stepped out of the bushes, "Your father warned us to leave," he explained, giving his nephew a look. "Where is your father, anyway?"

"He...he was kidnapped by Darth Vader," Luke explained anxiously. "We're here to help by disabling the shield generator structure that's here. We're going to rescue him."

Owen frowned as Leia, Han, Artoo, Threepio, and Chewie came out of the shuttle, "By yourselves?" he asked skeptically. "You won't get very far without a lot of help, Luke."

Silence filled the clearing as Owen looked at Leia and his eyes widened briefly before he turned his attention back to Luke, "You'll want to talk to the Ewoks if your droids can speak their language," Owen said calmly. "They've been a great help to Beru and I."

"I am programmed in over six million forms of communication," Threepio spoke up.

Recognizing Threepio, Owen nodded, "Let's get going to the village, then," he said in a commanding voice. "You won't get anywhere near the control center without help."

As Han, Threepio, Leia, and Chewie followed Owen and Beru into the jungle, Luke silently went off in another direction to find the structure. Artoo followed after him.

"Artoo, go with the others," Luke said in a quiet voice. "I'm going to the structure."

Artoo beeped anxiously and followed after Luke, pausing only when Luke did, "That's the structure, I guess," Luke spoke softly, eyeing the small metallic structure as he reached into his pocket and pulled out some charges. "I swiped these from Han."

Taking a quick look to make sure nobody was around, Luke crept over to the structure and stuck the charges into the outer vents. As he finished, he felt a blaster in his back.

"Freeze," a stormtrooper said as Luke turned around. "What are you doing here?"

For a moment, Luke considered lying, but he knew that he would be killed and utterly useless to his father if he did, "I am here to rescue my father, Anakin Skywalker, from Darth Vader and the Emperor," he said in a toneless voice, holding out his weapon.

Unknown to anyone, Artoo had seen everything and was speeding off to the village.

Ewok Village

"Luke did WHAT?!" Leia screeched in an anxious voice as she gazed down at Artoo.

Artoo repeated himself and Leia looked at Han, Owen, and Beru helplessly, "Luke went and turned himself in," Leia explained shakily. "He went to the structure by himself."

"What the heck was he thinking?!" Han snapped. "We had a plan set in place!"

Owen glared at Han, "You really have no idea what Luke and Anakin mean to each other, do you?" he snapped. "They have had only each other for many years and it would absolutely destroy Luke to lose his father. Luke acted purely out of love."

"I understand," Leia spoke shakily even though she was shaken over the incident.

Han scoffed, "We have no way to rescue them," he snapped. "Not with the shield..."

Artoo beeped anxiously, "Artoo said that Luke set some charges up inside the vents of the structure," Threepio spoke anxiously. "He does not know when they will go off."

Leia's eyes widened and she gazed up at the sky, feeling more helpless than ever.

Death Star

Palpatine cackled with glee as a stormtrooper came into the room with Luke, whose hands were shackled together, "Ah, as I predicted," he said coldly. "Luke came."

"Luke, what are you doing here?" Anakin asked as Vader suddenly backed away.

Luke frowned, "I came to rescue you, Father," he replied. "You can't die."

"Young Skywalker, the Force is strong within you," Palpatine said, gazing at Luke.

Luke nodded, but said nothing, "Luke, you shouldn't be here," Anakin breathed, his anxieties high over Luke's impulsiveness. "You need to get out of here right now!"

"AND YOU NEED TO SHUT UP RIGHT NOW, ANAKIN!" Palpatine roared angrily as he shot Sith Lightning at Anakin that was strong enough to slam Anakin against the wall.

Luke gasped as Anakin fell to the floor in a heap, breathing heavily because the lightning had damaged his ability to breathe normally, "I can feel your anger growing inside of you, young Skywalker," Palpatine crooned. "Your thirst for vengeance."

Coughing anxiously, Anakin tried to protest, but Palpatine shot another burst of Sith Lightning in his direction before turning to Luke, who was seething with anger. Not wanting his father to die, Luke used the Force to summon his weapon from the stormtrooper before turning it on and turning his attention to Darth Vader.

"I'll kill you like you destroyed my father," Luke snarled as he began to duel with Vader.

As Luke and Darth Vader duelled, Palpatine watched them with glee and didn't notice or sense Anakin because he was thinking of how Luke would turn. Anakin, meanwhile, had only been briefly stunned by the lightning and was slowly getting to his feet using a communications console for support. While leaning on the console, Anakin unwittingly brushed his hand up against a button that would allow outside vessels to hear what was going on in the room and know the locations of all non-personnel on the whole base.

Endor

"Why haven't the charges gone off yet?" Han grumbled as he, Leia, and Chewbacca id behind a bush, watching several stormtroopers guard the structure. "Are you sure...?"

Leia frowned at Han, "If Artoo saw Luke put the charges there, he did," she snapped in an angry, slightly elevated voice that prompted two stormtroopers to come over to them.

"Come out of there," one of the stormtroopers barked, pointing a blaster at them.

Swallowing hard, Han, Leia, and Chewie came out of the bushes with their hands raised and the stormtroopers shepherded them over to the structure, "Radio base and tell them we've captured a group of rebel scum," the stormtrooper ordered his companion

As the other stormtrooper turned to radio to base, Chewbacca roared and lunged at the stormtroopers, causing them to fire back. Desperate to protect Chewie, Han fired at one of the troopers at the same time as Leia. The return fire missed him, but hit Leia's arm.

Infuriated, Han quickly shot the few stormtroopers that were there and quickly escorted Leia to the part of the structure's doorway that was hidden. It was then that he noticed the charges were in the vent as Artoo had said, but none of them had been activated.

"The charges are here, but they aren't activated," Han said in a concerned voice as he reached up and activated the charges. "Luke must have been distracted when he..."

Leia nodded and quickly moved away from the structure, dragging Han and Chewie along with her, "We should get out of the way before the charges go off," she said.

"I hope Luke and Anakin get off the Death Star in time," Han spoke worriedly, gazing up at the sky, cringing as he saw the battle that was raging. "They don't have much time."

Death Star

It seemed like Darth Vader and Luke had been duelling for hours and while Anakin was pleased with his son's fighting spirit, he could also feel that Palpatine was tiring of Luke's continuing resistance. Anakin was, however, too weak to fight at Luke's side and found himself leaning against the console and fighting to keep his breathing steady.

"Give into your anger already, young Skywalker," Palpatine hissed. "You can do it."

Shaking his head, Luke continued to fight and angry at Luke's refusal, Palpatine shot Sith Lightning at the younger man, "AAAAH!" Luke screamed as he was electrocuted.

"Vader, finish him quickly!" Palpatine commanded as he shot more lightning at Luke.

Nodding, Vader clenched one of his fists and Luke grasped at his throat, powerless to do anything as Vader raised his lightsaber to kill him, "Angel, why are you hurting our son?!" Anakin cried out, his breathing worsening as his anxieties raised. "Angel..."

"Kill both Skywalkers immediately, Lord Vader!" Palpatine commanded as he turned to look out the window at the battle. "Once they are dead, we can destroy the Rebellion."

There was a tense silence and a tear escaped from Anakin's eye, as he had no strength left to save his son. Without warning, Darth Vader suddenly raised his lightsaber higher and quickly decapitated Palpatine without saying a word. Luke gasped anxiously as the grip on his throat was released, but Darth Vader collapsed before words could be said.

Trembling violently, Anakin staggered over to Vader's fallen form and quickly, but gently removed the dark mask. Padme's lifeless face stared back at him and he gasped softly.

"Is that my mother?" Luke asked shakily, approaching him. "She's very beautiful."

Anakin nodded and gently scooped Padme into his arms, ignoring the weight that Vader's armor added, "We need to get out of here, Luke," he rasped shakily.

Suddenly, the station rocked violently and alarms blared, "Help me carry your mother, Luke," Anakin spoke shakily, sighing as Luke obeyed. "We can find a shuttle..."

Both Skywalker men were silent as they carried Padme's lifeless form through the corridors and because of the chaos, they were ignored and managed to get to the shuttlebay without problems. Luke stationed himself at the flight controls while Anakin remained in the back, determined to separate Darth Vader from his beloved Padme.

"What are you doing, Father?" Luke asked, hearing noise in the back of the shuttle as the bay doors suddenly opened and the shields fell. "You should be taking it easy."

Swallowing hard, Anakin quickly began removing Vader's confining armor and throwing it into a hold usually reserved for cargo, "Your mother was a prisoner of the Empire since the fall of the Jedi," he said in an anxious voice. "She was badly tortured..."

As the shuttle flew out into space and towards the safety of Endor, Luke heard his father's breathing get heavier, "Luke, help," he suddenly heard his father gasp.

Quickly setting the shuttle on an autopilot course to Endor, Luke hurried to the back and found Anakin shaking violently while wrapping Padme's body in a blanket, "Father, lie down," Luke said in a concerned voice, gently taking his father's arm. "You need rest."

Gasping, Anakin trembled violently as Luke helped him to lie down on the small cot the shuttle had. Unable to stay awake any longer, Anakin groaned softly and passed out.

Luke's eyes widened in shock and as the Death Star exploded, he gently shook Anakin.

"You can't die, Father," Luke whispered as he continued to gently shake Anakin's weakened body. "You saved us all. We both brought balance to the Force. I need you."

As Luke fought to keep himself from crying, he suddenly heard a voice in his mind that he recognized as his father, "My son, I will try to hang on," the very weak voice said.

Endor

Within the Ewok village, Han and Leia stood together, watching the remnants of the destroyed Death Star streak across the dusky sky. Owen and Beru stood nearby with the Ewoks and the droids, all of them hardly able to believe what had just happened. Everyone, force-sensitive or not, had felt the tremor of Emperor Sidious's death.

"...I'm looking forward to talking more with Anakin when he and Luke return," Leia said, her voice full of hope. "It's going to be wonderful to get to know my real father..."

Even though he had never had any opportunity at a family except for Chewie, Han nodded and continued to hold Leia close, "I'm just grateful we all made it through this," he said in an exhausted voice, gently petting her injured arm as he held her close.

Han and Leia remained in each other's arms as several fighters landed in clearings and surviving members of the Rebel Alliance began to disembark and quietly celebrate.

Suddenly, they could hear noise behind them and turned just in time to see several Rebel medics rush over to a small shuttlecraft that had landed several feet outside the village. Frowning, Leia took Han's hand and dragged him in the direction that the Ewoks and Uncle Owen were heading, as they obviously could tell something was wrong.

"Could Luke have been hurt?" Han asked, as he and Leia hurried over to the shuttle.

Leia was silent as she watched the medics board the shuttle. A moment later, Luke emerge alone and uninjured, but obviously distressed about what was happening.

"Oh no," Leia whispered, as she suddenly realized that Anakin might have been killed.

A few moments passed and then Leia gasped as she watched the medics carry Anakin from the shuttle on a stretcher. They walked towards the village to see if they could find a place for Anakin to recuperate safely and Luke watched them go for a moment.

"Luke, what happened?" Leia asked, as she pulled Han from the bushes.

Looking in the direction that the medics had taken his severely injured father, Luke sighed, "He killed the Emperor," he lied, not wanting to share the entire story.

Turning away, Luke quickly walked in the direction the medics had gone.

Tears filling her eyes, Leia turned her face into Han's chest, "Hold me," she said, beginning to sob. "Oh, Han...I just barely got to know him and now he might die.."

Unsure of what to say, as he too worried for Anakin, Han held Leia as she cried softly.

"Ani...Ani...Ani..."

Anakin opened his eyes and found himself on the balcony within the Lake Country residence on Naboo where he and Padme were married long ago. He felt a pair of arms at his sides. Turning, Anakin was surprised to see Padme, dressed entirely in white, looking up at him. Anakin felt tears come to his eyes and wondered if he was dead.

"Padme..." Anakin breathed, as Padme tenderly touched his cheek with her hand.

Padme smiled, "Oh, Ani, you have done a wonderful thing," she said, gazing intensely into her husband's eyes. "You have brought the galaxy to peace and you saved me."

Without any warning, Padme embraced Anakin in a tender kiss. Anakin held her tenderly, "Have I died?" he asked in a concerned voice. "Is this the afterlife?"

"You will not die for a long time yet, Ani," Padme spoke softly. "Luke and Leia need you and you have much work left to do. You were willing to give your life to save us..."

Anakin choked back a sob, "I don't know how I can go on without you," he whispered.

"You managed when you thought I had died on Mustafar and you can do it again, my love," Padme spoke softly, kissing him once more. "I love you, my Ani. Be strong."

As Padme faded from Anakin's arms, Anakin knelt to the ground and lowered his head.

Inside the large Ewok hut that the Rebels had been given to use as an infirmary for anyone injured in the strike against the Death Star, Luke sat on a stool in the corner, trying to relax his mind so that he could continue using the Force to help his father.

It had been hours since his father had been brought into the hut. The medics had done everything they could and attached many fluid lines to the injured man, hoping that he would eventually wake.

Anakin lay on an Ewok bed unconscious, dressed in loose clothing and covered up to the neck with a rough, yet very warm blanket that the Ewoks had provided. There were fluid lines in his hands and arms and his face was very pale. His battle clothing and lightsaber were on the floor.

Since the medics had left them alone, Luke had tried desperately to touch his father's mind and gently coax him into regaining consciousness. However, Anakin's mind had been untouchable and Luke didn't want to bring about any permanent damage.

For a moment, Luke gazed out the hut window at the sun that was preparing to set. He then gazed back at the bed and realized that his father's body was slowly moving.

"Father?" Luke said as he rose, moved over to the bed and kneeled at his father's bedside.

Anakin didn't respond right away, "Father, can you hear me?" Luke asked, taking Anakin's hand.

There was a small gasp and then Anakin's eyes slowly opened, "Luke," Anakin spoke, his voice a faint whisper. "Your mother...she has forgiven me...for all those years ago.."

Letting out a deep sigh, Anakin made to sit up, but had little strength, "Luke, help me sit up and walk outside," he said in a tired voice. "I want to thank the Ewoks for their help..."

"Father, the entire galaxy should be thanking you," Luke said as he carefully helped Anakin to sit up. "You almost gave your life to stop the Emperor..."

Anakin let out another tired sigh and leaned against Luke for support, "Luke, it was not just me who ended this battle, it was a combination of many great efforts," he weakly replied. "Many people have been in pain for much too long and it has now stopped..."

Luke nodded and helped Anakin to stand, "Can you walk, Father?" he asked.

"I can with assistance, my son," Anakin said, relieved as Luke worked to hold him up.

The sunlight shone down on Luke and Anakin as they left the hut, "It is a beautiful day," Anakin spoke softly, too weak to do much but look around at the groups of people who were talking excitedly. "I can't remember when the sun was so bright, my son."

Suddenly, everyone stopped and looked at both Anakin and Luke. Anxious and relieved whispered filled the crowd and Leia, Han, Lando, and Chewie came up to them both.

"I'm relieved you're all right, Father," Leia spoke anxiously as she gently hugged Anakin.

Realizing that Artoo must have shown Leia the video from years ago, Anakin weakly returned the hug and smiled as Luke joined in, "My beautiful children," he spoke softly.

"The galaxy will be deep in celebration by morning," Lando said in a grand voice.

Anakin nodded and sighed tiredly, "My wife was a prisoner of the Empire for many years and by the time we found her, she was dead by the hand of Darth Vader," he spoke in a solemn, shaky voice. "I have her body and when I am well enough, I will deal with it."

"We should burn Vader's body," Han said darkly. "So it won't haunt us at all anymore."

Anakin nodded, "You three go ahead and celebrate," he spoke softly. "I will do it."

Before Luke, Han, or Leia could reply, Anakin slowly walked off to the shuttle alone.

Dawn would come soon and Andris knew that he had to get away from Endor while people were celebrating the Emperor's death. While hiding in the Ewok village under the guise of being a weary traveller, he had heard how the Rebels had claimed victory.

As fireworks were set off and cheers filled the air, Andris smoothed down his civilian disguise and made his way through the brush. He hoped to find a ship to escape the planet in and use to find the remnants of the Empire. If there were any left, that is.

Fortunately for Andris, there were clearings that contained fighters that pilots had landed after surviving the destruction of the last Death Star. He quickly made his way over to an empty fighter, boarded it, and quickly took off into the safety of space.

Not noticing that a fighter had just departed from the planet, Anakin slowly carried Darth Vader's armor into a secluded clearing and set it on top of an altar that he had constructed from stones earlier that day. He had hidden Padme's body in the shuttle and the shuttle itself was hidden in a place that only he and Luke knew about.

Once the armor was arranged on the altar to appear as if Darth Vader himself was being cremated, Anakin slowly trudged over to the torch he had brought with him to light his way and to cremate the armor. He winced as he picked it up, but didn't drop it.

Swallowing hard, Anakin lit the armor and stood back as it burned into dust. He suddenly felt gentle hands on his shoulder and he smiled as Luke came into view.

The two Skywalker men stood in silence as Vader's armor burned and when it had finished burning, they extinguished the fire and returned to the joy-filled Ewok village.

Luke helped Anakin sit on a bench where he could clearly see Han, Leia, Threepio, Artoo, Owen, and Beru celebrating with the Rebel pilots. As Luke sat next to his father, the sun began to rise and bathe Endor in a calm sunrise that was unlike any other.

The Emperor was dead and Darth Vader was also dead, but was evil truly at rest?

Please read and review!

This story is now complete, but it will have a sequel called 'Scattered Forces, Hidden Darkness' that is slightly intertwined with this story, but also deals with the aftermath of the Emperor's death and an uncertain future for all of our heroes...